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Annual Conference News
The Conference Secretary's staff invites you to join us as we welcome our friends, old and new, back to Lake Junaluska for AC22! Please contact Marsha Patton if you are interested in joining the Registration Team in Terrace Auditorium as we register clergy and laity of annual conference.
Submit your request for Advanced Meals Purchases by May 26th to receive discounts and guarantee your AC22 meals. Once submitted, please be patient as Lake Junaluska staff is responding to all requests. They will call you to collect payment, in the order requests are received.
If you haven't yet confirmed your AC22 Special Event with Lake Junaluska, please contact LuAnn Davis. The AC22 Special Events Calendar is being finalized, so if you haven't yet submitted your event for publication, do so at wnccumc.org/ac2022-special-events ASAP!
WNC clergy who are in full connection, provisional members, associate members, and local pastors are required to attend the Western North Carolina Annual Conference meeting, June 16-19, 2022. Annual Conference will be live-streamed for at-home viewing, but registration and full participation (including voting) is only possible in person. If you are not able to attend in person, please request an excused absence. You can make that request at this link. Clergy who are retired or are on leave of absence are automatically excused if they are not able to attend.
Keep up with the latest news and resources for Annual Conference 2022 at https://www.wnccumc.org/ac2022.
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Pass-the-Mantle
The WNC Board of Ordained Ministry is inviting you to help celebrate the years of faithful service of WNCC Retiring Clergy by making a gift to a new initiative called Pass-the-Mantle, which will provide scholarships for WNCC seminary students. |
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Means of Grace: An Update from the Just Compensation Task Force
In this episode, Dr. Bill White, Jr., Conference Director of Equity and Justice Ministries, has a conversation with members of the Just Compensation Task Force for an update on their petition for Annual Conference. Rev. Amy Coles, Assistant to the Bishop, Rev. Norma Villagrana, Chair of the Order of Elders and Rev. Brandon Lazarus share about the status of equitable compensation and the learning and proposals from the Just Compensation Task Force. More information will be shared at www.wnccumc.org/ac2022 as Annual Conference approaches and you can contact Brandon Lazarus at blazarus@wnccumc.org. |
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Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the WNCC: In Muk Kim
Did you know In Muk Kim was the first Asian-American to be elected as a delegate (clergy or lay) to Jurisdictional Conference from the WNC Conference. He served in our conference’s delegation to Jurisdictional Conference in 1992 and 1996, and in the delegation to both General and Jurisdictional Conference in 2000. In this short bio, Conference Archivist and Historian, Jim Pyatt, shares the story of Mr. Kim and the impact he had on the Western NC Conference and greater United Methodist Church. |
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The Western NC Conference Announces Changes to Conference Staff
The Western NC Conference announces staff changes effective this week. Aimee Yeager is transitioning to a new role on the conference staff as she steps into the position of WNCC Director of Communications. Melissa McGill, who has served as the Conference Director of Communications for four years, has accepted a new position as the Senior Marketing Director of Impact and Development at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. With gratitude for her years of service, we wish Melissa all the best in her future endeavors and look forward to continuing ministry with Aimee as she transitions into this role. |
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"Like most mothers, mine had big hopes and dreams for me. She was informed she was not “college material” in high school. When my siblings and I came along, she was determined her children would not hear the words spoken to her. Mom aspired for me to attend Salem College, an all-girls school founded by the Moravians in Winston Salem. She knew early learning was key to school success, but public kindergarten was not available for me. In hopes of a better job for herself, Mom was set to take classes and become a secretary. She instead chose to sacrifice her tuition to pay the cost for me to attend a kindergarten at Centenary UMC." Read the latest Mission Engagement Blog by Camille Roddy.
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OTHER NEWS
- ImagineHub registration is now open. ImagineHub provides a learning network, training programs and support solutions for churches that desire to reimagine and deploy their space and resources as a means for improving economic empowerment in their community. Register by May 8 to receive a free signed copy of keynote speaker David Kresta’s book “Jesus on Main Street”.
- With generous support from the Reynolds Ministry Fund of the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina, the Racial Healing and Reconciliation Learning Cohort will be offered again in Fall 2022. Interested churches are invited to complete an Interest Form providing basic information and describing their local church’s efforts in racial equity and justice.
- Now more than ever, the Church needs forward-thinking leadership. That's why we're excited to offer the next class of the Reynolds Program in Church Leadership, offered to 24 United Methodist pastors from the Southeast Jurisdiction. Past participants describe it as a transformative experience unlike any they have attended. If you or someone you know aspire to grow in your capacity to serve the Church, please prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to this opportunity.
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UPCOMING WEBINARS & EVENTS:
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Experiencing Fresh Expressions in A Rural Context
Is your church looking to connect with new people in your community? On May 14th and 15th we have two opportunities to learn about and experience fresh expressions with a focus on the rural context. Saturday’s event will be in Albermarle and Sunday’s event will be in Boone. Clergy and laity from across the conference are invited to join |
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Laity Forum
Registration is open for the next Laity Forum Monday, May 23, 6:30-8:00p via Zoom. The topic will be Dismantling Racism through Celebration: the significance of commemorating Juneteenth in our churches and communities. |
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